Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nimbus Dam Head of the lower river - no passage | Dam / hazard | 38.63621, -121.21977 | Lake Natoma ends here. Everything below the dam is the free-flowing lower American; there is no way through or around by boat. |
| 2 | Nimbus Fish Hatchery CDFW hatchery and visitor center | Agency / conservation office | 38.63443, -121.22554 | Hatchery, fish ladder and visitor center on the south bank immediately below Nimbus Dam. |
| 3 | USGS gauge - American River at Fair Oaks Site 11446500 | USGS gauge | 38.63544, -121.22769 | The flow gauge the lower river is read by; releases from Nimbus Dam show here first. |
| 4 | Upper Sunrise Recreation Area Boat ramp, American River Parkway | Access / boat ramp | 38.63631, -121.26384 | Paved ramp and parking; the standard put-in for the Sunrise to Watt Avenue float. |
| 5 | Lower Sunrise Recreation Area American River Parkway day use | Access / boat ramp | 38.63274, -121.27209 | Gravel bar access and parking just downstream of the Sunrise ramp. |
| 6 | Sportsman's Warehouse Tackle, licenses, local flow reports | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 38.61689, -121.27069 | Full tackle department about a mile off the Parkway at Sunrise Boulevard. |
| 7 | Ancil Hoffman Park Sacramento County park, Effie Yeaw | Park / conservation area | 38.61541, -121.31491 | Large county park inside a river bend, with bank access and the nature center. |
| 8 | River Bend Park Sacramento County Parks | Park / conservation area | 38.59448, -121.32423 | Parkway day-use park with parking and wadeable gravel bars. |
| 9 | William B. Pond Recreation Area Parkway launch and day use | Access / boat ramp | 38.59152, -121.33378 | Hand-launch, parking and river access; a common take-out for the upper Parkway float. |
| 10 | Fisherman's Warehouse Tackle shop near Howe Avenue | Bait, tackle & fly shop | 38.55778, -121.36660 | Dedicated tackle shop a short drive from the Watt and Howe Avenue accesses. |
| 11 | Paradise Beach Parkway river beach at Glenn Hall | Park / conservation area | 38.58077, -121.42463 | Wide sand and gravel beach on the Parkway below the Howe Avenue reach. |
| 12 | Discovery Park Boat Ramp Ramp at the Sacramento confluence | Access / boat ramp | 38.60050, -121.50892 | Paved ramp at the bottom of the river; the take-out for the full Parkway run. |
| 13 | Tiscornia Park Beach at the American-Sacramento confluence | Park / conservation area | 38.59812, -121.50607 | Beach and bank access on the point where the American meets the Sacramento. |
Gauge: USGS 11446500 — AMERICAN R A FAIR OAKS CA. Live flow on the web page.
Species: American Shad, Chinook Salmon, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Steelhead, Striped Bass
Regulations: wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Regulations
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Nimbus Basin and Hazel Avenue - the top of the fishable river, immediately below the dam and hatchery.
Sailor Bar - gravel bars, walk-in wading and a launch used by most guided drift trips.
Sunrise Avenue access - large parking area, ramp, and the most heavily fished gravel in the system.
Ant Ribbon and Rossmoor Bar - mid-river bars that fish well for shad in early summer.
Watt Avenue access - lower river ramp and bank fishing close to central Sacramento.
Howe Avenue and Paradise Beach - deep lower-river holding water for stripers and late salmon.
Discovery Park at the Sacramento confluence - tidal influence, striper and shad water at the very bottom.
Spring: steelhead taper off and the american shad run builds through May and June into the best wading of the year.
Summer: cold releases keep the river fishable when everything around it is hot; low light and early mornings.
Fall: the fall chinook run arrives from late September and is the busiest and most productive period.
Winter: steelhead fishing on a cold, clear river, with flows subject to